The Swiss giant's incoming vice-chair plans to maintain a job at the publisher of Switzerland's biggest tabloid. The doubling up of roles is likely to raise questions over how close UBS is to a key Swiss media-maker.
Lukas Gaehwiler (pictured below) plans to keep his board job at Ringier, the publisher of Swiss tabloid «Blick,» after joining UBS, daily outlet «Luzerner Zeitung» (behind paywall, in German) reported on Tuesday. The 56-year-old Swiss banker is part of a triumvirate poised to take over at UBS from April, as finews.com reported on Monday.
The «side» job matters because the media house and the Swiss bank maintain especially close ties, which in turn raises questions over influence-taking. Gaehwiler in September was featured in a group interview including Swiss president Guy Parmelin with Ringier glossy «Schweizer Illustrierte» (in German).
Controlled by the Ringier family, the eponymous publishing house cleared 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.1 billion) in revenue last year through television, print, and e-commerce, alongside the «Blick». The flagship tabloid in June clinched the first interview with new UBS CEO Ralph Hamers.
Ensuring UBS' «Swissness»
Gaehwiler stepped down from his most recent operational role running UBS' business in Switzerland four years ago. He now chairs the bank's domestic unit – a role which he will relinquish should UBS' shareholders back him as a board member of the parent group.
His nomination alongside that of designated Chairman Colm Kelleher, who is Irish, is a bid to showcase UBS' Swiss credibility. Gaehwiler is little-known internationally but well-known within Switzerland as plain-speaking banker: he once compared a butcher warning of the nutritional value of traditional Swiss bratwurst as a metaphor for deregulating finance.
Role At Aircraft Manufacturer
Part of his job will be to represent UBS in Switzerland’s powerful industry associations and in the corridors of political power, as the bank pushes further into Asia and expands its wealth business in the U.S. The trio of Kelleher, Gaehwiler, and Hamers represent a departure from the idea of a single figurehead, against a backdrop of increasing complexity.
Gaehwiler last year joined the board of Pilatus, a Swiss-based aircraft manufacturer which is controlled by descendants of Emil George Buehrle. The German and Swiss weapons manufacturer and art collector also founded a bank in Zurich, Ihag.
